Battle of Victumulae
Battle of Victumulae | |||||||
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Part of the Second Punic War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul) |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Scipio Africanus |
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Strength | |||||||
30,000 | Unknown |
The Battle of Victumulae, fought in January of 217 BC during the
Prelude
The
The fortress-pantry of
Of the remnants of the Roman army after the battle of Trebbia, a part was exterminated near the
The
Not even their stay in the winter quartersas peaceful for the Romans, as the Numidian cavalry continued to carry out raids everywhere, and when the places were unsuitable for these raids, the troops of the Celtiberians also intervened and the Lusitanians. In fact, it was difficult to obtain supplies for the Roman troops except through transport along the river Po.[10] There was in fact a first Battle of Piacenza (217 BC) clash of minor importance near Piacenza which saw the victorious Romans and Hannibal leave, wounded in combat, «a circumstance which generated dismay in the souls of the Carthaginians». Following this clash, the deposit was further fortified and defended.[11]
Battle
Hannibal, after resting for a few days, when he recovered from his wound, continued his journey towards the location of Victumulae to conquer it. A Roman deposit had been located here since the time of the Gallic war of the years 225-222 BC. People who belonged to the neighboring populations, probably the Cenomani, had flocked to this location from all over and had gathered here from the nearby campaigns due to fear of looting by the Carthaginians.[12]
This heterogeneous mass, incited by the Battle of Piacenza (217 BC), decided to go to meet Hannibal after arming itself. Rather than in battle order, they looked like a militia marching in a disorderly manner. And since they were 30,000 men inexperienced in military art, they were defeated by Hannibal, who, although he could count on a few well-trained soldiers, had full confidence in them.[13]
Result
The following day the inhabitants of the city of Victumulae, who had taken refuge within the city walls, welcomed the Carthaginian garrison and surrendered, handing them over their weapons. It was then that the victors were given the order to sack the city as if it had been taken by force. No form of massacre was overlooked, so much so that
[...] such was the example that the Carthaginians then gave of lust, cruelty and inhuman pride against those miserable
—.Livio
— XXI, 57.14
References
- ^
;Livio
— XXI, 45-46
;Eutropio
— III, 9
.Polibio
— III, 65 - ^ a b
;Livio
— XXI, 54-56
;Polibio
— III, 71-74Mommsen 2001
— vol. I, tomo 2, p. 732 - ^
.Polibio
— III, 65-66, 7-9 - ^
;Polibio
— III, 69, 1-4
.Livio
— XXI, 48.9 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 56.4 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 56.5 - ^
;Polibio
— III, 74, 7-8
.Livio
— XXI, 56.7-9 - ^
.Polibio
— III, 74, 9-11 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 56.6 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 57.5 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 57.6-8 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 57.9-10 - ^
.Livy
— XXI, 57.11-12 - ^
.Livio
— XXI, 57.13-14
Sources
- Giovanni Brizzi (2007). Scipione e Annibale, la guerra per salvare Roma. Bari-Roma: Laterza.
- Giovanni Brizzi (2016). Canne. La sconfitta che fece vincere Roma. Bologna: Il Mulino.
- Theodor Mommsen (2001). Storia di Roma antica. Vol. II. Milano: Sansoni.
- André Piganiol (1989). Le conquiste dei romani. Milano: Il Saggiatore.
- Howard H.Scullard (1992). Storia del mondo romano. Dalla fondazione di Roma alla distruzione di Cartagine. Vol. I. Milano: BUR.